QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF HEAVY METAL POLLUTION IN SOIL AND DIFFERENT PLANT PARTS OF THEVETIA PERUVIANA FOR PHYTOACCUMULATION DETERMINATION AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS IN KURUKSHETRA CITY, HARYANA
Neelu Sood , Jasmine Kaur and Gajendra Singh
Abstract
Considering the present scenario of urban environment pollution, there is a dire need for the improvement in approach of planting trees and other plant species. Ornamental and medicinal plants having pollution solving ability should be included in the plantation plan. Remediation of heavy metal contaminated sites using chemical or physical techniques is the most challenging task. Phytoremediation can be used as an alternative remediation and cleaning up technique. The aim of our research was to identify the research plant, Thevetia peruviana as a phytoremediation agent which may associate an important biomass production with an effective absorption and translocation of heavy metals. The amount of heavy metals present was determined using ICP-Auto Analyzer. Selected sites were evaluated for pollution level scale by applying Pearson Correlation test. Positive correlation between the degree of pollution and the concentration of heavy metals was found as the value of ‘r’ for Lead was 0.847 and for Chromium ‘r’ was equal to 0.860. Among the analyzed heavy metals, Pb had the highest concentrations in all the sampling sites while Ni had the lowest concentration whereas Cr was found in between the two. Thevetia peruviana plant showed maximal phytoremedial property with respect to Chromium followed by Lead.
Keywords: Heavy Metals, ICP-Auto Analyzer, Phytoremediation, Polluted Sites, Thevetia peruviana.